The controversial standard would regulate how businesses – with the exception of the agriculture, construction, and maritime industries – deal with injuries caused by repetitive or awkward movements.

OSHA said it will target for inspection workplaces with seven or more incidences of on-the-job injury. The agency maintains it's not out to punish companies but to help them identify potential hazards, educate employees on ways to avoid injury, and avoid the costs associated with injuries.

Repetitive strain injuries – which include ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and chronic back and neck pain – accounted for 66 percent of all occupational illness in 1998, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1980, RSI accounted for only 18 percent of all occupational illness.

Once associated with manual labor jobs such as meatpacking, sewing, manufacturing, and assembly-line work, repetitive strain injuries are now common among computer users.

RSI is brought on by repeating the same task over and over, from clicking a mouse to tapping out email messages on a keyboard. If the body doesn't get a chance to repair the wear and tear inflicted on muscles, ligaments, and tendons, injuries can result.

According to the Department of Labor, the private sector currently reports the highest rate of RSI, with 253 injury incidents per 10,000 workers reported in 1998. Automakers report the second-highest injury-incident rate, with 24 incidents per 10,000 workers, followed by meatpacking plants, with 16 incidents reported per 10,000 workers.

OSHA's proposed standard would affect approximately 1.9 million employers and 27.3 million employees in general-industry workplaces. Employers in these environments would be required in the first year to identify jobs with the potential to cause RSI and take steps to minimize risks associated with those jobs. OSHA estimates that the standard would prevent about 3 million work-related injuries over the next 10 years.

"More than half of (workplace violations) we see today are ergonomic-related," said Emil Golias, a senior industrial health specialist for OSHA. "Companies are doing a good job on safety, but not as good on ergonomics."

Opponents of the standard say putting ergonomic programs in place would cost U.S. businesses much more than OSHA's estimate of $4.2 billion per year, and that not enough scientific evidence exists to tie injuries to repetitive movements.

"Our objective is to slow OSHA down," said Albert Lundeen, spokesman for the National Coalition on Ergonomics. The coalition, headquartered in Washington, is an alliance of 300 U.S. businesses representing a range of industries.

Members of the NCE testified against the proposed ergonomic standard at OSHA's public comment hearings, which conclude Friday in Portland, Oregon. "We're convinced there needs to be greater research" before there can be a standard that effectively prevents injuries, Lundeen says. For example: "How many repetitive movements are too many?"

The National Academy of Sciences is currently preparing a report at the behest of Congress on whether certain work tasks cause RSI. That report is due out in January.

But supporters of the ergonomics standard argue that the link between repetitive motions and RSI has been well documented in the medical community, and that OSHA's proposal to require companies to institute a basic ergonomics plan is overdue.

"Asking how many repetitive movements cause an injury is like asking how many cigarettes cause cancer," said Peter Budnick, an ergonomics engineer and president and CEO of ErgoWeb, an online guide to ergonomic products and services in Midway, Utah.

Doctors who treat RSI attribute the high rate of injury to the increasing number of workers who use computers on the job. To date, some 64 million Americans say they regularly use the Internet either at home or at work, according to a 1999 CyberStats study.

"We see these injuries here every day," said Dr. Lawrence Bryson, a San Francisco internist. "People are spending too much time at their keyboards."

These injuries, often referred to as cumulative trauma disorders since they occur over time, cost employers more than $20 billion in workers' compensation claims annually, and an estimated $54 billion a year for indirect costs such as time away from work, reduced productivity, and training for replacement employees, according to OSHA.

According to Liberty Mutual Insurance, the mean cost of an injury claim for cumulative trauma disorder is $8,000 – twice that of any other work-related injury.

The number of citations OSHA currently issues is "extraordinarily low," says OSHA's Golias. From 1997 to 2000, only 2 percent of OSHA inspections led to citations. But with a government standard in place, OSHA expects that figure to go up to 50 percent.

"We're hiring," jokes Golias.

But the fines are no joke. Workplaces on the receiving end of an OSHA citation can expect to pay anywhere from $1,500 to $250,000 or more for gross negligence.